Project: ALEXANDRIA
by 67Sexy-Whales42
Summary: Luka was a city girl, 18 years old and living in New York to go to art school, until she unintentionally got involved with an under-the-radar organization, littered with secrets and ambitions that no one should have to be burdened with. Its name, Project: ALEXANDRIA.
1. Nobody's Perfect, Except for Us

**What? New story? What?**

**Oh yeah, and I drew the cover for this story, too. You can see it on my deviantART (username: "sexywhales") or just go straight using this link (no spaces): sexywhales. deviantart art /RULES- REGULATIONS- ORDER- 313367518**

***cough DON'T OWN VOCALOID cough***

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**Project: **_**ALEXANDRIA**_

_If at first you don't succeed, you don't belong in this program._

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Chapter I: Nobody's Perfect, Except for Us

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My day had been normal.

I was walking down the Fine Arts Hall, as I did every Friday, to get to my car to go to work. I nodded my head at the same strangers, said goodbye to the same teachers, and _almost_ managed to make it outside with absolutely nothing unusual happening.

Then someone talked to me.

"Excuse me, miss," the woman said, "but would you care to participate in a personality survey for Manhattan's local psychology center? It will only take a few minutes of your time."

"Um…" I hummed. The woman had long, teal hair tied up in two ponytails. Of course, I went to an art school so the color didn't faze me at all, considering I knew at least twenty other people that dyed their hair (myself included), but it was still strange. So even and silky, it almost looked natural. Nevertheless, she didn't appear too menacing, so I said sure. My boss could deal with me being a little late, anyway.

I found a place to sit and fill everything out. The survey was titled _Initiation Evaluation_ and I guessed that was kind of weird for a personality quiz, but I never thought anything of it.

_Name: Luka Megurine_

_Gender: Female_

_Date of Birth: January 30, 1993_

_Ethnicity: Caucasian_

_Natural Eye Color: Blue-gray_

_Natural Hair Color: Blonde _

That was kind of weird when they started asking me about my eyes and hair, but, you know, I passed it off again.

_Height: 5'6"_

_Weight: 125 lbs._

Okay, maybe I weighed a little more than that, but it was all in my boobs! Chest weight doesn't count, right? SHUT UP. I'M SENSISTIVE ABOUT MY BODY.

I continued to fill out the survey, and twenty-seven questions later, I returned my paper and the pen I'd borrowed to the teal-haired woman. She smiled emptily and thanked me for my participation. However, as I turned away to leave, I kind of ended up knocking all of the things she was carrying onto the floor.

"Oh, my god, I'm so sorry," I rushed. "It was an accident; I'm sorry." I scrambled to try to help her pick up her things, but I wasn't much help. Oh, I was such a klutz.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket and I saw my friend Kaito was calling.

"Oh, gosh, I have to take this," I mumbled. "I'm so sorry!" I called over my shoulder, hurrying outside to my little red car. It sucked that I actually had to drive in New York, occasionally, since everyone on the road was a speeding taxi driver and, yet, there was still traffic everywhere. I sighed. "Hello?"

_"Luka! You sound tired. What's up?"_ Kaito said.

"Ugh. I just ran into someone and made them drop everything they ever owned. I feel so rude."

_"I'm sorry. Who was it?"_

"Nobody you know. Okay, why did you call me?"

_"I was going to make sure you picked up my project for me before you left for work, you know, like you said you would."_

"Oh, dang it! I knew I was forgetting something!"

_"That's why I called you. It sounds like you've got your hands full now, though." _He sighed. _"Whatever. I can just get it on Monday."_

"No, I said I'd get it, so I will. I can just be a little late for work. It'll be fine," I insisted.

He sighed again. _"Don't give your boss another reason to pick on you, Luka."_

"No," I repeated. "I'll be at your apartment in fifteen. Be ready for me!" I closed my phone and turned to go back into the Fine Arts Hall. Kaito was my closest friend (Le friendzone, I know. He… he brought it upon himself!) and he was an art major that went to the same college as me. He was twenty years old, in his third year, while I was still a freshman. We knew each other in high school, though, and kept in touch via text message and Facebook before I graduated. He didn't have a car, so I was generally put in charge of transporting some of his grander pieces to his apartment off-campus.

Oh, yes, one other thing. You saw my birthday up there, and I'm sure _every one of you_ went, "How in the world is she in college now? Shouldn't she still be a senior in high school?" Well, to answer the question that you may or may not have actually asked, my parents put me into kindergarten when I was four. I don't know why. They just did. It made for a very uncomfortable period during the middle school years… Ugh, makes me shudder just thinking about that.

Okay, I'd only seen a picture of this piece once while it was still in progress, so I hoped I could recognize it. As far as I knew, it was a girl; and she actually had clothes on her _body_. It was rare for the professor of art at this school to let her students get away with that. JK. But really. That was kind of the only reason why I got to see a progress picture at all. Kaito was so excited about it that he sent me a picture and typed under it, "Look! I don't have to paint any boobage in this one!" then added about ten smiley faces after that.

I stepped into the painting workroom and sought out one of the larger canvases in the room… not exactly a difficult task. I (fortunately) recognized his style immediately. And I felt myself draw in a gasp and nearly go limp as I recognized the image. It was absolutely beautiful, which was to be expected since it was _Kaito_ we were talking about here; but even more than that, it was… me. He painted me as if I were trying to push myself out of an invisible box that was the canvas. I almost whipped out my cell phone and called his crazy ass to know how long he'd been staring to make me feel like I was staring into a mirror, but I saw a sticky note in the corner of the canvas and it got me distracted. I peeled it away carefully. It read:

_Luka,_

_I know you're probably totally pissed that it took me so long to ask you out, but better late than never, right?_

_Like like,_

_Kaito ;b_

Omigod I felt like I was going to start bawling. That was probably because I was seriously PMS-ing at that moment but THIS WAS QUITE LITERALLY THE SWEETEST THING ANYONE HAD EVER DONE FOR ME.

I went out to my car as fast as was safely possible; the painting was four-fifths my size, after all. I folded down my back seat to make the trunk bigger and, once I managed to find my keys and load the car, I raced down the streets, found an illegal space to park, and bustled up three flights of aggravating concrete stairs to Kaito's apartment. I caught my breath for a few seconds before knocking lightly at the door. This stupid chest was way too heavy to carry up the stairs this often. It was a wonder I wasn't thinner, considering how often I went here. (I have an impregnable fear of elevators, if you're wondering why I torture myself so hard.)

"That was faster than fifteen min—" Kaito tried to talk as he opened the door but, well, I was kissing him and it's kind of hard to talk and kiss at the same time. "Whoa, aren't we going to have dinner first?" he gasped as I pulled away.

"Dinner is hours away, Kaito. I have to thank you _right now_," I breathed. "That was, honest to god, THE nicest thing anyone has ever done for me ever." I gave him a death squeeze after that, which probably hurt me more than it hurt him but whatever. It's the thought that counts. "Okay, I, um, ah, I gotta get to work now; um, I just needed to, ah, tell you that. You can, like, go down and get your painting… from… my car… now," I stumbled.

He smiled at my struggle to find words. "Keep it," he said, kissing me on the forehead. The corners of my lips twitched at the small gesture. He did that before we were "dating," but it felt more special now.

"Okay," I whispered, backing away a bit. "I'm gonna… go now." I bit my lip and grinned a little before turning around completely and waving goodbye.

I got to my car before someone had it, like, towed or something, and drove for another five minutes to my workplace in a sort of hazy state of mine. Until I realized I was about… twenty minutes late. Fml.

"Well, look who decided to show up," the boss said mockingly, tapping his fingers on the countertop.

I heaved a heavy sigh and trudged to the back to get my apron. I worked at an old, run-down, privately owned convenience store, probably the only one left in the city, and the only customers we ever got were teenage alcoholics that bought our green tea because it was so far past its expiration date that it had developed a higher alcohol concentration than rubbing alcohol.

"Some twerp came in earlier and messed with the rotation of the drinks back there. Would you go and fix that for me, doll? Thanks. And that work you missed is coming out of your pay!" he chided in his nasty, raspy, smoking-since-I-was-three-years-old voice.

"Sure, boss," I replied through gritted teeth.

A short pause passed when I was pretty sure he was staring at my butt. "Of course, I can wave that last thing if you want to work 'overtime'."

I shivered. "I'm going to charge you with sexual harassment one of these days," I muttered under my breath. My boss was a total pervert, in case that wasn't blatantly obvious enough already.

At that moment there was a ding at the door, signaling that someone had come inside, which was strange in and of itself. Even _stranger_ was who it was. The teal-haired woman from earlier came in wearing a bored, borderline dismal expression. She headed straight for the stagnated tea section and I internally facepalmed at the irony.

I walked up to her, partly because it was my "job" to help the poor customers find what they wanted and partly because I felt sorry for her, actually coming inside here and looking at all of the various fermented goods we had brewing in the back.

"Excuse me, miss, but can I help you find anything?" I asked as politely as I could muster.

She didn't even look up from what she was examining. "No, this dump is tiny enough that I think I could have a complete inventory of it in about eight minutes. I think I'm fine without you," she deadpanned rather obnoxiously. "I don't see how your boss can even afford to keep you employed, looking at how long all of this junk has been here. Are you by any chance sleeping together?" she continued, flipping a bottle around slowly in her hands.

"E-excuse me! I-I have a boyfriend you little b—" I cut myself off before I could finish my word.

She flicked her eyes up at me momentarily. "Oh, you're the clumsy, big-breasted twit from the art school. What did you say your major was?"

"F-fashion," I stuttered reluctantly, biting my tongue so I wouldn't come up with a more offensive f-word.

She looked up again to look me over, not subtly at all, fixing her lips in a snobby little pout. "That shade of pink in your hair doesn't match your shoes at all. So much for style. You should get a better hairdresser. Your color's fading."

I gawked at her. "You can either buy some stupid fermented tea or you can get the hell out of here. Please decide quickly. You're wasting my time," I hissed.

"I didn't realize you were in such a rush to screw with your boss," she marveled. "Excuuuse me for my ignorance."

I held myself back from slapping the stupid out of her face… for two seconds.

"Oh, my god. Dammit, I didn't mean to do that. Oh god," I hummed to myself.

The girl slowly turned her face back toward me, face totally blank but eyes seething. "Your name's Luka, right?" she growled, barely opening her mouth. "Well, congratulations. Your score on the _Initiation Evaluation_ has qualified you for certain benefits from the NYPCA. Please, accept this business card and visit our website, printed on the back for your convenience, for more information. Have a nice day." She shoved a small card into my arms and almost calmly walked out of the store, except for when she threw money over her shoulder for her disgusting, decaying drink. It was all in coins, too. I bet she did it on purpose.

"Don't get hit by a bus, you little whore!" I spat. I shoved the card into the pocket of my shorts, grumbling to myself as I went back to organizing.

"_Mrroowww_," my boss called. "Got a little cat fight going on, do ya?"

"Do me a favor, and shut your perverted face before I shut it for you!" I yelled.

"That's coming out of your pay, too, Luka."

"I FREAKING KNOW."

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I got back to my apartment at about 8:30 and called Kaito as soon as I walked inside. Again, this wasn't very abnormal, but it felt a little different, more exciting, now.

"_Hello?_" he said groggily.

"Hey. Were you sleeping already?" I asked.

He took a second to reply. _"No. I was napping,"_ he yawned.

"Oh, I'm sorry to wake you. Well, um, I called because… is it too late to have dinner?"

He laughed through the phone. _"Of course not_._"_

"Okay. Then meet me at The Usual."

_"On my way."_

xixix

The Usual was our favorite restaurant. It had decent food for decent prices, which was all a college student could ever ask for.

I'd been telling Kaito about my unique experience today with that teal haired bi—dirty dish towel.

"Wow! You just slapped her? In front of your boss and everything?" Kaito remarked.

"Yeah. I really didn't mean to, but I just… slipped," I said smally. "I feel kinda bad about it, now, too."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You said she shoved some business card thing at you?"

"Yeah. It sounded like she was required to give me a speech about it by some regulation, too. It was weird. She mentioned something called the NYPCA or something. Said I had 'beneficial opportunities' because of how I scored on that personality survey thing."

"That sounds weird. What kind of benefits?"

"She gave me a website but I didn't look at it. I don't think I even want to know, really."

"Seriously? I mean, I know you hate the chick that gave it to you, but come on. Aren't you curious? I'll look it up on my phone. Do you have the card with you?" Kaito had one of those fancy 4G Smartphones, unlike me, since I actually had to pay for my own cell phone plan.

I huffed and pulled out the crumpled slip of paper from my pocket.

"Very organized, Luka," Kaito observed sarcastically.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Creative Chaos," I chided.

Kaito typed in the address without replying and waited for the page to load.

"_You are using an unlisted device to access this page. Vocal identification required. Please speak your name slowly and clearly_," said an artificial voice from his phone.

Kaito twisted his brow at it and handed the phone to me as the voice repeated itself on a loop.

"Um, Luka Megurine," I spoke into his phone.

"_Vocal identification successful. Welcome, Luka Megurine_," the voice buzzed.

"That's weird," I mumbled. I started skimming the page, a bit more interest apparent on my face than I cared for, but I couldn't help it.

"What is it?" Kaito posed.

"'The New York Psychology Center for Advancement is proud to announce that you are one of the twenty-five individuals in the city of New York that has been qualified for a beneficial psychological program capable of improving the conditions of your life. In the past, this program has shows exceptional statistics for positive results. We invite you, _Luka Megurine_, to join us for a seminar to be held on the 20th of the month at 6:00 p.m. at the NYPCA headquarters for more information about the program,'" I read.

"Sounds special. So what, are you gonna go?"

I stared at him in dismay. "You can't be serious. This thing looks like a load of crap. Of course I'm not going."

"But you don't even know what it is!"

"And I don't need to. It'll be a waste of time!"

"Okay, then go for me," he pleaded. "It sounds interesting. Come on, I'll pay for your dinner if you go."

I gaped at him and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "You were going to pay for my dinner anyway! You're my boyfriend, now, remember?"

"Oh, right. How could I let that slip my mind," he chuckled.

I smirked at him. "_Okay_, I'll go if you want me to so badly."

"And I do!" he added. "Heh, you have to tell me _all about_ just how 'stupid' it is after you go, kay?"

"Deal. I can't believe you talked me into this."

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**Good intro into a story, yes? =.=;; I hope so at least. I thought this up on a whim, but I have a feeling that this is going to get big. **

**Now, as I warned you in the summary, the pairing in this story changes. Probably. I haven't decided yet. Or maybe I have, and I'm just trying to screw with you… most likely the second one. ;b I have a poll on my profile so technically you guys could vote on that and I'll definitely take into consideration the results as I write. I'll also look at reviews, because I like the idea of my readers talking to me and putting in a bit of input!**

**As for the beginning… well, tell me what you think! What do you think they're going to do? And how in the world am I going to pull this off?**

**Huge thanks to anyone who actually read this. ^^; I'm not sure how this will grow as far as popularity goes, so I'll be thankful for whatever I can pull off.**

**Isn't it interesting how the personality, height, and age of Vocaloids changes in each story, yet their respective chest sizes stay the same…? Just thought that was kind of interesting…**


	2. If at First You Don't Succeed

**WUT. UPDATE. WUT.**

**I'm really sorry guys. I actually have a pretty decent excuse for not updating, well, **_**anything**_** for the past few months and I'll tell you at the end of the chapter. Lots of plot in this one. And introductions.**

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Pro. ALEX

Chapter II: If at First You Don't Succeed, You Don't Belong in this Program.

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The 20th was a Monday. I had all morning classes then, so it was easy to make it to that "Introduction to the Program" seminar thing.

"Hey, let me walk you to that NYPCA place," Kaito was saying.

"Uh, your really don't have to," I answered carefully as I descended the stairwell leading to the subway.

"Nonsense. The directions are already up on my phone. Besides, I'm your boyfriend now. I'm allowed to want to be with you whenever."

"Whatever, Bakaito," I huffed.

"Your weeaboo is showing, Luka. You know, that reminds me; know what my brother started calling us?"

"I can only imagine."

"Lukaito."

"Wow. That's bad."

"I know right?"

A silence fell on us as we boarded a train. It was awkward because there were a lot of people there and nobody was talking. That's rush hour for you.

A few stops later, though, enough people had gotten off for the air to at least be breathable, so I started talking again.

"So…" Kind of.

"Did you watch the news this morning?" Kaito asked me.

"Of course not. I hate the news," I sighed.

"Well, I had to make sure! There was an interesting story on this morning. Apparently some sort of humanitarian group has been working in Atlanta. The unemployment rate was cut in half."

"That's great," I remarked in disinterest.

"Yeah, it is," Kaito agreed, disregarding my sarcasm. "It sounded like they were doing some really spectacular street cleaning."

"This is me still not caring. What does Atlanta have anything to do with us?"

"Well, not much, but I thought it was interesting. They apparently changed the government around some, too. Put more people in charge."

"That's weird. Are they allowed to do that?"

"Well, they did, so I guess they can."

"How did putting more people in change a government?"

"I don't know the details. That's all they said. See? I told you it was interesting."

"I guess so," I admitted. I didn't really care too much about politics, though. "Hey, isn't this our stop?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I guess it is."

xixix

The building of the NYPCA was… disappointing to say the least. It had three stories and was very bland, almost grungy. It was gray. Spectacular.

"You sure this is the right place?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, this is Apple maps, so it _could_ be wrong," he answered. "…Want me to walk you inside?"

I scanned the building front. It had "NYPCA" in big black letters over the door and one of those plates with professionals' names on it to look official or whatever. "No thanks," I said. "I'll be fine."

"Bye, then."

I waved and walked up the five steps of the building to go inside. The interior looked much nicer than the exterior, thank the Jesus. There was a modern little check-in center with a pretty blonde woman working on papers behind the counter. She looked up when I entered and immediately scanned me over like a computer looking for viruses. (Wow that was the worst comparison I have ever made.) Well, anyway, I apparently passed and she started talking to me.

"You must be here for the seminar," she said. She made her way around the desk and gestured toward a hallway to the left. "If you'll follow me, please."

The woman led me to a small presentation room with the same modern feel to it as the front lobby. There were around thirty chairs set out and ten individuals that looked to be about as confused as I was sitting in them. At least I wasn't the only one.

I sat down in a middle row of chairs that had two people sitting on the end, chatting quietly with themselves. I looked around awkwardly. I noticed that the teal-haired monster from the other day was sitting at the front of the room and suppressed a shudder. With nothing better to do, I turned my attention to my cell phone and started playing solitaire since I had no new texts and that was the only game that my crappy system could support. It was still only 5:50. I was a little early.

By the time the seminar was supposed to start, my row had filled out with the exception of the seats on either side of me. Way to boost the self-esteem, people. Anyway, right after I'd won my third game of solitaire, the lights started dimming and a few "shushers" began quieting down the small audience. Until two people came bustling in like they were running from a fire, making a commotion of apologies about being late.

"We're so sorry," the blonde girl leading said.

"There was a lot of traffic," the blonde boy behind her added.

"We nearly missed the subway twice."

"Then someone decided to _jump_ in front of the train and set us back even further!"

"Oh, Len, stop! You're making a commotion."

"Oh, Rin! You should have said that to the man that jumped!"

The melodramatic teenagers chose to take the seats on either side of me. Lucky day. And, of course, they immediately rushed into hushed conversations over me as soon as they sat down. Like, literally. They were talking _about_ me.

"Rin, I do wonder who this lovely lady sitting next to us is," the boy whispered.

"Oh, yes. I do as well, Len. She is quite fair. Might we inquire as to what her name is?"

"Why, that sounds like a marvelous idea!"

Rin and Len turned their attention toward me expectantly. "Do tell!" Rin said.

"Uh, I'm Luka…" I mumbled.

"Luka! What a fine name," Rin remarked.

"Oh, yes," Len said, "very fine, indeed."

I noticed a man walking up, probably to start talking to us, so I kind of tried to quiet the young… um… couple? Maybe they were siblings or something. Either way, it took more coaxing than I would have wished, but they shut up eventually.

"Welcome," the man started. "I'm so glad that all of you were able to make it out here this evening." He had a genuinely warm tone, though his features were rather hard and stoic. "I must say that I am thrilled at such a large turnout."

"Well it's not like we had much of a choice," Rin whispered to Len. He just smiled mischievously back at her. What?

"We have gathered you tonight, this select group of individuals, to tell you about our project of revolution in society. We call the program Project A. In fact, you may have heard of the recent changes to the government down in Atlanta on the news this morning. Those are the results of this program in action."

The man glided his violet eyes across the audience as a sense of intrigue rippled through the crowd, myself included. He subconsciously ran his fingers through his hair of the same color. Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention his odd-colored traits earlier. My bad.

"In the past, we have used single persons to try to attain our goals, but more recent trials have shown that elite groups of inspirational individuals can more effectively impact society," he continued, his hair swishing with his subtle hand movements. "We start small with things like support groups in schools, charitable organizations, and volunteer work, but by coming together over time, we can make society stronger and maybe even change the world."

"Ooh. Changing the world, Rin. Wouldn't it just be lovely if we could do that?" Len breathed.

"We would go down in history! Rin and Len, the twins that turned the nations upside-down!" Ah, so they _were_ siblings.

"Oh, but Rinny, couldn't we do that already? We're such influential people!"

"We can just use this to get our start, of course," Rin said. "We could always go our own way, once we have enough influence to work on our own." They exchanged a sneaky glance and turned their attentions back toward the front where the teal girl was just about to go up and speak. I hoped I didn't miss anything important that the purple man had to say earlier…

"With a program of this magnitude, we could only afford to have the best and brightest working for us," the girl said. "Hello, I am Miku Hatsune, a Ph. D. here at NYPCA. After I finished my bachelor's degree, I was adopted into this program. The experience I received as a volunteer earned me the scholarships and income to pay my way through graduate school."

Now that was something that caught my attention. If I could earn an alternate form of pay… I could quit my job. And I wouldn't be sexually harassed daily by that godforsaken excuse of a man that couldn't replace his own tea supply if it hit him in the face… I could quit my job.

I COULD QUIT MY JOB.

"The amount of income you receive varies from project to project. Most projects require jobs such as coordinators, guides, and various technical and creative designers. By working with us consistently, participants can receive an average of around fifteen dollars an hour." That was, like, double my pay. "Many of you are still in school settings, and I know that every extra dollar counts. We choose young people for our programs to help them earn experience in the real world and use the skills they have learned over the years productively. Participants will be notified about all projects going on via their communication method of choice. All of you here have already applied _and_ been accepted for this program. Please, take working for this organization into consideration. Thank you."

That was it.

So yeah, I was totally going to sign up for this thing.

"Wow, Len. That almost sounded too good to be true! Imagine, we could get paying jobs and move away from that awful school to live together! Oh, Lenny, I've missed you so much at night ever since we started college," Rin whined.

"Oh, Rinny, just as I have missed you! I think we may as well give it a shot. I mean, it's like they're placing money into our hands! What do you think, Lulu?" Len asked.

"Um, it's Luka, not 'Lulu,'" I said.

"But that's your new nickname!" Rin cried. "Len and I decided during the seminar!"

How in the world were they communicating without me hearing them during that thing…? "Um…"

"Here, Len, put our numbers into Lulu's cell phone for me," Rin said.

"Hey wai—!" They already had my phone.

"Anything for you, Rinny. Okay, Luka's number is 448-0108. Can you remember that?" Len stated.

"How did yo—?"

"Already saved! We'll have so much fun talking, Lulu! Do you have unlimited text? I'd get it now if I were you."

I couldn't really think of anything to say as the twins started skipping off along their way, Len calling over his shoulder, "We'll text you~!" Squiggle included.

… What just happened?

xixix

I signed up to be notified by email every time a new project began, then headed back to the subway station and called Kaito to tell him to come visit me in my dorm. I wanted to tell him all about how it went. I was bad at explaining things over the phone; well, I was bad at explaining things in general, but I was least bad at face-to-face communication.

I had an apartment-style dorm, meaning I had my own room, but it was smaller than a regular dorm room, and there was a living room, kitchen, and two bathrooms shared by three other people. Except my next-door roommate dropped out to follow a doomed singing career. At least I got the bathroom to myself. The room I lived in was very boring. The walls were a creamy green color and I was only allowed to put four posters up to liven things up. My floor was also littered with fabric scraps from late nights working on last-minute fashion projects. At least that made things a little more interesting.

I was just hiding the remnants of my undergarments that were strewn all over the everywhere when Kaito called to tell me to let him inside.

"I can see you've been cleaning in here," he remarked as he walked into my room. "I think you've finally cleared down to_ last_ semester's fabric scraps. Impressive."

I humped him on the forehead. "Don't mock me."

He laughed. "I wasn't! So tell me more about this seminar thing."

"Okay. DON'T say 'I told you so,' but… it was actually very good."

"I told you so."

I glared at him and he flashed me a guilty smile in return. "They're offering pay for community work and projects and stuff. Sometimes _fifteen_ dollars an hour, which is a lot more than what I have now, ya know."

"You mean you could quit your terribly crappy job? That sounds great!"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna try it out first. To see what it's all about and all. But if this works, I could _finally_ dump that perverted old loser for something that I like. Or at least, that I like better than working for him."

"That's great! So, when would you start?"

"I'll have to check my email. I told them to send me any updates."

"So go look!"

I smirked and shoved his arm. "Not _tonight_. I'm tired. It's been a long day."

"Whatever."

"Oh, did I tell you about the two people that I met there? The crazy twins?"

"No," he laughed. "Who are the 'crazy twins'?"

"There were this boy and girl that, like, stumbled in late talking about trains and subway or traffic or something and they sat next to me, on either side, during the seminar. It was weird. They were so over-dramatic, but at the same time they didn't really seem to care about anything."

"That's weird."

"I know, right? They were kinda dark, too. And it seemed like they, just, knew a lot. Everything about everything social, even though they didn't talk about a lot of things… to me. They just had that air about them. And they would finish each others' sentences and talk like you weren't there and stuff. It was really strange."

"Were they nice at all?"

"I mean, I guess so. They didn't seem terrible or anything. They put their numbers in my phone and took my number, without asking, before skipping out of the room together."

"Definitely weird. I think I need to meet these two. What're their names?"

"Rin and Len."

"_Them? _I _know_ those two! They go to school here! I had a design class with them once. They were actually pretty cool They were always together, though. It's like they were joined at the hip."

"No wonder. They seemed like the artsy type. I should have guessed that they went here or something."

"It's a small world." Kaito smiled. We sort of looked at each other for a while before Kaito gave me an unexpected peck on the lips. "Sorry. I just… enjoy being allowed to kiss you any time I want, now."

I smiled sort of awkwardly back at him. "I forgive you," I said.

"So are we going to go out for ice cream or what?"

"You know I hate ice cream!" I exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.

"I keep forgetting because it is _ridiculous_ for _my girlfriend_ not to like ice cream," he retorted, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me in close. "How about Starbucks?" he said into my hair.

"Late night coffee sounds fabulous right now, actually."

"Okay, let's go."

"Okay." Another pause. "… Are you going to let me go first?"

Kaito stood and swung me up into his arms. I yelped in protest. "Nope."

"Put me down!"

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for _years_ to work up the nerve to do this!"

"Mrreeeh."

"Oh, hush, you. I'm buying you coffee."

"Point taken."

xixix

**I hope I didn't make any stupid grammar mistakes! I haven't written in a while, so if I did, let me know.**

**For the past few months I have been suffering from bouts of depression. They never really had any one cause, it was just the accumulation of things and different things and more things on top of those things that really just got me down. Then terrible school stress and homework and procrastination hit me and I tried out for a musical and was quite literally one step from making it in but I didn't, and then I didn't make it through to a competition, and then my goldfish died and all of these THINGS plus the five-billion other things that happened this year just… really destroyed me for a long time. I started seeing a counselor after all of that. It's getting better. I at least wrote again.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! At this point, I don't have a whole lot of things planned out for the future of this story except for things that come later, so I need middle steps. I'm open to suggestions to help inspire me. **

**Well, I guess that's about it. Oh! For any of you that read This is Not a Fanfiction, I have a poll up on my profile that relates. I'd love it if you voted!**

**Thanks for reading. Please leave a review! It was actually a recent reviewer that actually inspired me to start back up on this, and, well, it looks like it worked. ^^**


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